30 Notorious FBI Most Wanted Fugitives
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Top 30 Notorious FBI Most Wanted Fugitives
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most infamous individuals to have appeared on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, whether they’ve been captured or are now deceased.
In 1980, Glen Stewart Godwin decided to rob a drug dealer with his roommate, but they ended up murdering him. To cover up the crime, they attempted to load the corpse with explosives. However, this plan failed and they were both apprehended. Godwin was sentenced to 26 years to life, but he managed to escape from prison and fled to Mexico. While there, he was arrested for dealing drugs, which alerted American authorities. But while they worked on his extradition, Godwin murdered a fellow inmate, further delaying the process and allowing him to escape again in 1991. Since then, he has evaded capture and is believed to be living under an alias in Latin America. Godwin was removed from the Most Wanted List in 2016.
Alejandro Castillo was just 18 years old when he was added to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in October 2017. His inclusion was as a result of the murder of his ex-girlfriend and co-worker, Truc Quan “Sandy” Ly Le in August 2016. At the time, Castillo owed Le some money and asked to meet her at a convenience store to repay the loan. She was however never seen again. After killing Le, Castillo fled to Mexico with his accomplice and girlfriend, Ahmia Feaster, who was also their co-worker. While Feaster turned herself in two months later, Castillo has remained at large. In 2023, the FBI announced a reward of up to $250,000 for information leading to his arrest.
After honing his skills as an armed robber in Kansas City, Anthony Brancato moved to Los Angeles in 1946, when such skills were in high demand by the mob. He quickly became a freelance gunman, suspected of being involved in several gangland murders, including that of Bugsy Siegel. Brancato teamed up with fellow Kansas City criminal Anthony Trombino, forming the notorious duo the “Two Tonys.” In 1951, Brancato and Trombino robbed the Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, resulting in Brancato appearing on the Most Wanted list for just two days before he surrendered. After their release from jail, L.A. mob boss Jack Dragna allegedly ordered their killings, and both were shot dead in their car on August 6th 1951.
Today, Angela Davis is a respected activist, academic and author, but back in the 1970s, she was deemed a terrorist due to her affiliation with the Communist Party. This not only led to her temporary dismissal as an Assistant Professor at UCLA, but also landed her on the Most Wanted list in 1970. The catalyst was an August 1970 incident in which weapons purchased by Davis were used in an attack on a courthouse in California, resulting in a judge’s death. Although not involved in the attack, an arrest warrant was issued for Davis, prompting her to flee California and go into hiding for two months before she was arrested in New York. Davis was charged with aggravated kidnapping and murder, but was ultimately acquitted.
Born in Egypt, Yaser Abdel Said moved to the U.S. in 1983 and later became a citizen. He had three children, including two daughters Amina and Sarah, whom he reportedly assaulted both physically and sexually. Believing they had dishonored the family by refusing arranged marriages and dating non-Muslims, Said decided to kill his daughters. On January 1, 2008, he took them for a ride in his taxi and fatally shot them. Said went on the run immediately after and managed to evade capture for 12 years. Although he was initially thought to have fled to Egypt, he was arrested in Texas in August 2020, along with his son and his brother. Said was ultimately found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
On March 20th 1950, just one week after its creation, the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list added its 11th name: Willie Sutton. Sutton was a notorious bank robber who stole approximately $2 million throughout his long career. He was first sent to prison in 1931, but successfully escaped on three different occasions. After his third escape in 1947 from the Philadelphia County Prison, Sutton was placed on the Most Wanted list. He remained on the run until February 1952, when a clothing salesman recognized him on a subway and alerted the authorities. Sutton received a prison sentence of 30 to 120 years, but was released in 1969 due to good behavior and poor health.
On December 4th 1980, the town of Saxonburg[e], Pennsylvania was rocked by its first murder in over a century. Police Chief Gregory Adams pulled over a man named Donald Eugene Webb in a routine traffic stop. When Adams asked to see his license, Webb attacked and shot him twice at close range. A nationwide manhunt for Webb was launched, and in 1981, he was placed on the Most Wanted list, where he remained for nearly 26 years before being removed in 2007, as authorities believed he had died. That presumption was confirmed in 2017 when investigators discovered that Webb’s wife, Lillian, had harbored him in two of her homes until he passed away from a stroke in 1999.
Ruja Ignatova became known as the ‘Cryptoqueen’ for her digital currency, OneCoin, which she founded in 2014. However, less than a decade later, she earned a new title: FBI’s most-wanted fugitive. OneCoin, it turns out, was nothing more than a pyramid scheme that swindled investors from around the world of $4 billion. In 2017, when it became clear that authorities were investigating her company, Ignatova vanished into thin air. She has since appeared on the most wanted lists of the FBI and Europol, with a $5 million reward offered for information leading to her arrest. Although still at large, rumors suggest that Ignatova may have been murdered in 2018 on the orders of a Bulgarian drug lord.
Between April and July 1997, Andrew Cunanan went on a killing spree across four states, claiming the lives of five people. But he is mostly remembered for the murder of his final victim, renowned fashion designer Gianni Versace. On July 15th 1997, Cunanan fatally shot Versace at the entrance of his mansion in Miami Beach, Florida. By that time, he had already spent about one month on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, but managed to lay low. Just one week after Versace’s murder, Cunanan turned the same weapon on himself and took his own life before he could be captured. To this day, no one knows the motives behind his deadly rampage.
In June 2002, former U.S. Navy personnel and firefighter Robert William Fisher became the 475th fugitive to appear on the Ten Most Wanted list. He was wanted for the alleged murder of his wife and two children at their home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Fisher, whose parents divorced when he was a teenager, reportedly had a troubled marriage on the brink of divorce. Before that could happen, he killed his family and fled, rigging their house to explode hours later, supposedly to destroy all evidence of the crime. Since then, Fisher’s whereabouts have never been verified, despite hundreds of tips received by the FBI. In 2021, he was taken off the list, though he still remains a wanted fugitive.
Almost a decade before 9/11, the World Trade Center was hit with a terrorist attack that claimed six lives and left more than a thousand injured. Ramzi Yousef, one of the brains behind the 1993 incident, fled the U.S. just hours later and was subsequently added to the FBI’s list. During his period at large, Yousef masterminded what is now known as the Bojinka plot, which included a plan to assassinate Pope John Paul II and attack 11 planes en route to the United States. Although detailed, the plan failed and Yousef was later arrested after one of his former associates ratted him out. He was extradited to the U.S. where he is currently behind bars for life.
The first woman to ever appear on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list; Eisemann-Schier and her boyfriend Gary Stephen Krist orchestrated the kidnapping of heiress Barbara Jane Mackle in 1968. The two criminals abducted Mackle from her hotel room and took her to a remote area, where they buried her in a ventilated box for more than three days. Luckily, Mackle was rescued in relatively good condition. Krist was apprehended just two days later. It would take the better part of three months for Eisemann-Schier to be caught, but after it finally happened, she spent four years in prison and was deported to her home country of Honduras.
Before he was included on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, Jason Derek Brown was a seemingly successful businessman with a taste for the expensive. In reality, he was deeply in debt, and involved in various sketchy schemes. His apparent life of luxury came to an end in November of 2004 when he carried out a heist of an armored car outside a movie theater, killing the guard. Brown fled the scene and bounced around the U.S. before disappearing completely. His “surfer dude” looks have led to supposed sightings of him all around the country, the majority of which have turned out to be false. In 2022, Brown was removed from the list, although he still remains at large.
Nicknamed “Atomic Dog”, James Charles Kopp was closely affiliated with anti-abortion militants, including the Christian “Lambs of Christ”. In 1998, he fatally shot physician Barnett Slepian in his own home. Doctor Slepian provided abortion services for several New York communities. After committing the murder, Kopp fled the U.S., moving to Mexico and Ireland, before landing in France in March of 2001. Two weeks later, he was arrested by French police and extradited to the U.S. He’s serving a lifetime sentence without the possibility of parole. Police suspect that he was also responsible for the murders of several other doctors in the US and Canada.
Bank robber Leslie Isben Rogge was the first ever criminal on the FBI list apprehended thanks to the internet. Rogge built his criminal career on bank robberies across the US, from Florida to Missouri. He was caught and convicted in 1984, but escaped the following year to commit even more robberies. In all, Rogge robbed over two dozen banks and made away with over $2 million. He remained on the run for several years before his picture on the FBI’s website was recognized by someone in Guatemala, who alerted the local authorities. Rogge will remain locked up till 2034, when he will be 94 years old.
Another anti-abortion militant, Eric Rudolph was behind the Centennial Olympic Park bombing during the 1996 Summer Olympics. He also bombed two abortion clinics and a lesbian bar. For five years, he hid in the Appalachian wilderness, but in 2003, he was arrested at a grocery store in North Carolina. He pleaded guilty to all charges, including murder, and revealed that he had hidden 250 pounds of dynamite in the forest. Unrepentant, he has written essays from prison promoting violence, published online by Christian terrorist organization Army of God.
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a radical denomination of the Mormon Church that still preaches polygamy. When he took over as President of the church, Warren Jeffs married nearly all of his father’s widows and took strict control over who his followers married. His regime was fraught with allegations of assault, and he was responsible for arranging marriages between adult men and minors. After appearing on the FBI Most Wanted List for just four months, Jeffs was arrested at a traffic stop and tried for his crimes in Utah, Arizona and Texas. He is currently serving a life sentence in Texas.
In 2000, a drifter going by the name Carlos was working as a handyman in a neighborhood in Philadelphia. That summer, the body of a missing girl was found in the apartment building where “Carlos” lived, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Four years later, Alexis Flores was arrested for forgery in Arizona and jailed for 60 days, before he was deported back to his home country of Honduras. After his deportation, DNA samples taken from Flores in Arizona matched those from the murder case in Philadelphia, proving that “Carlos” was, in fact, Flores. He was added to the FBI’s list soon after, and is currently believed to be hiding either in Honduras or somewhere in the U.S.
The first drug trafficker to appear on the FBI’s list, Juan García Abrego gained notoriety as the ruthless leader of the Gulf Cartel. After taking over the reins of the cartel from his uncle, García Abrego transformed it into one of the most expansive crime syndicates along the U.S.-Mexico border. He shipped not only drugs into the US, but also millions of dollars to be laundered. With such an infamous reputation, he was added to the FBI’s list in 1995 and apprehended almost a year later on a ranch in Mexico. He was tried on 22 counts of money laundering and drug trafficking, and bagged himself 11 consecutive life sentences in the slammer.
Speaking of the Gulf Cartel, they feuded heavily with another Mexican syndicate called the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. As part of their ongoing rivalry, the Gulf Cartel arranged to have the father of Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez murdered. Villarreal-Hernandez, who was a Beltrán-Leyva boss, sought to enact his revenge, but not on any of his rival drug lords. Instead, he targeted Juan Jesús Guerrero Chapa, the Gulf Cartel’s lawyer who represented their leader. In May 2013, Guerrero was tracked down to Southlake, Texas, and assassinated by Villarreal-Hernandez’s men. Investigation by the authorities traced the murder plot back to Villarreal-Hernandez, who was then added to the Most Wanted list. His name remained there until January 7th 2023 when he was arrested in Mexico.
Over the last 70 years, more than 500 names have graced the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives List. Thomas James Holden was the very first. A career criminal, Holden first appeared on the FBI’s radar as one half of the notorious Holden-Keating Gang. Together with Francis Keating, he went on a robbery spree in the Midwest throughout the 1920s and ‘30s, targeting payroll deliveries, trains, and banks. Shortly after his second stint in prison, Holden shot his wife and her two brothers after a drunken night and fled the scene. The following year, he appeared as the first fugitive on the FBI’s inaugural list. He was eventually captured and thrown right back in prison.
With a record 32 years, Víctor Manuel Gerena remains the fugitive with the longest amount of time spent on the Most Wanted List. While working as an armored car guard for Wells Fargo in 1983, Gerena and his accomplices pulled off a heist of $7 million from the company’s depot. This became the biggest cash theft carried out on US soil at the time. Gerena escaped to Mexico soon after the robbery and hasn’t been seen since then. He was added to the FBI’s list the following year and remained there until he was taken off in 2016. While many of his co-conspirators have since been apprehended, the whereabouts of Víctor Manuel Gerena remain unsolved.
Before the horrific events of March 1st, 1976, William Bradford Bishop Jr. lived the American dream. The Yale alum and former diplomat was married to his high school sweetheart and was the father to three boys. After finding out he was passed over for a promotion on that fateful day, Bishop returned home and allegedly murdered his family, as well as his mother. For decades, the feds have combed through lead after lead but have turned up nothing in their search for Bishop. From 2014 to 2018, Bishop was named as one of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, but he was kicked off the list in favor of more dangerous people.
The criminal case of Leonard Peltier is one that has been heavily debated for decades. An activist and member of the American Indian Movement, Peltier appeared on the Most Wanted List for his involvement in the killing of two FBI agents at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He was arrested just two months later in Canada and extradited back to the U.S., where he was tried and convicted. Peltier’s trial raised several questions concerning the evidence presented and the witness testimonies, some of which have since been recanted. Despite clemency appeals from several human rights groups and key political figures, Peltier’s convictions - two life sentences and additional time for a 1979 prison escape - still stand.
The whopping $20 million dollar reward for information leading to the capture of Rafael Caro Quintero’s is the largest currently offered for an FBI Most Wanted Fugitive. One of the founders of the Guadalajara Cartel, Caro Quintero went to prison in 1985 for his role in the murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena Salazar. He was released in 2013, after a state tribunal in Mexico ruled that he should have been tried for murder in a state, not federal court. After outrage from the Obama administration, the Mexican government issued a new arrest warrant a few days later, but Caro Quintero was long gone. He was however captured in Mexico on July 15th 2022, in a covert mission that left 14 Mexican servicemembers dead in a helicopter crash.
Arms trafficking, racketeering, money laundering, contract murders … These are just a few of the criminal charges leveled against Russian mafia boss Semion Mogilevich. Described by the FBI as “the most dangerous mobster in the world,” Mogilevich was placed on the Most Wanted List in 2009 after scamming millions of dollars from investors of a Canadian company he oversaw. It was a long shot, as the Feds knew he had high-profile connections in Russia and was living freely in Moscow. Due to the lack of an extradition treaty between Russia and the U.S., Mogilevich was taken off the list in 2015, but he is still being actively pursued by the FBI.
One of the most notorious mob bosses to ever spring out of Boston, James “Whitey” Bulger was the leader of the Winter Hill Gang. Bulger had his hands in multiple criminal enterprises, such as racketeering, money laundering, extortion and even murder, yet he worked as an FBI informant against other mobs. Facing impending prosecution, he fled Boston and remained in hiding for sixteen years. During this period he was added to the list and was, at one time, the second most-wanted man in the US, behind only Osama bin Laden. After he was apprehended in 2011, Bulger was convicted of his many crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2018, he met his demise at the hands of other inmates.
One of the most infamous serial killers of all time, Ted Bundy was responsible for the deaths of at least 30 women in the 1970s. He was arrested in 1975 but managed to escape from prison twice, killing even more women while he was on the run. Bundy used his charm and good looks to lure his victims in, before assaulting them and taking their lives. After his second escape from prison, his name was added to the FBI’s list. He only spent five days on the list before he was arrested at a traffic stop. Following two highly publicized trials, Bundy was found guilty of three murders and was executed by electric chair in 1989.
Already a convicted armed robber and fraudster, James Earl Ray gained notoriety for his 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Ray, who had escaped from prison the previous year, ran up north to Canada and laid low for a while. After a few months on the run, Ray was arrested in London and sent back to the U.S. to stand trial for his crime. There, he pleaded guilty to King’s murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Having appeared on FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives in 1968, Ray’s name resurfaced on the list in 1977 when he escaped from prison with six other inmates. He was recaptured three days later, and died in prison at the age of 70.
As the founder of Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden was responsible for masterminding several terrorist attacks. Although most infamous for the events of September 11th 2001, bin Laden originally appeared on the FBI’s list two years earlier. His inclusion was as a result of his involvement in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. After the 9/11 attacks, bin Laden became the most wanted man in the world, with the FBI placing a $25 million bounty on his head. Bin Laden managed to evade capture for more than a decade, but met his end in May 2011 when he was shot and killed by U.S. military forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Which of these fugitives do you think will be captured next? Let us know in the comments.
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most infamous individuals to have appeared on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, whether they’ve been captured or are now deceased.
#30: Glen Stewart Godwin[a]
Years on List: 1996-2016In 1980, Glen Stewart Godwin decided to rob a drug dealer with his roommate, but they ended up murdering him. To cover up the crime, they attempted to load the corpse with explosives. However, this plan failed and they were both apprehended. Godwin was sentenced to 26 years to life, but he managed to escape from prison and fled to Mexico. While there, he was arrested for dealing drugs, which alerted American authorities. But while they worked on his extradition, Godwin murdered a fellow inmate, further delaying the process and allowing him to escape again in 1991. Since then, he has evaded capture and is believed to be living under an alias in Latin America. Godwin was removed from the Most Wanted List in 2016.
#29: Alejandro Castillo[b]
Years on List: 2017-Alejandro Castillo was just 18 years old when he was added to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in October 2017. His inclusion was as a result of the murder of his ex-girlfriend and co-worker, Truc Quan “Sandy” Ly Le in August 2016. At the time, Castillo owed Le some money and asked to meet her at a convenience store to repay the loan. She was however never seen again. After killing Le, Castillo fled to Mexico with his accomplice and girlfriend, Ahmia Feaster, who was also their co-worker. While Feaster turned herself in two months later, Castillo has remained at large. In 2023, the FBI announced a reward of up to $250,000 for information leading to his arrest.
#28: Anthony Brancato[c]
Year on List: 1951After honing his skills as an armed robber in Kansas City, Anthony Brancato moved to Los Angeles in 1946, when such skills were in high demand by the mob. He quickly became a freelance gunman, suspected of being involved in several gangland murders, including that of Bugsy Siegel. Brancato teamed up with fellow Kansas City criminal Anthony Trombino, forming the notorious duo the “Two Tonys.” In 1951, Brancato and Trombino robbed the Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, resulting in Brancato appearing on the Most Wanted list for just two days before he surrendered. After their release from jail, L.A. mob boss Jack Dragna allegedly ordered their killings, and both were shot dead in their car on August 6th 1951.
#27: Angela Davis
Year on List: 1970Today, Angela Davis is a respected activist, academic and author, but back in the 1970s, she was deemed a terrorist due to her affiliation with the Communist Party. This not only led to her temporary dismissal as an Assistant Professor at UCLA, but also landed her on the Most Wanted list in 1970. The catalyst was an August 1970 incident in which weapons purchased by Davis were used in an attack on a courthouse in California, resulting in a judge’s death. Although not involved in the attack, an arrest warrant was issued for Davis, prompting her to flee California and go into hiding for two months before she was arrested in New York. Davis was charged with aggravated kidnapping and murder, but was ultimately acquitted.
#26: Yaser Abdel Said[d]
Years on List: 2014-20Born in Egypt, Yaser Abdel Said moved to the U.S. in 1983 and later became a citizen. He had three children, including two daughters Amina and Sarah, whom he reportedly assaulted both physically and sexually. Believing they had dishonored the family by refusing arranged marriages and dating non-Muslims, Said decided to kill his daughters. On January 1, 2008, he took them for a ride in his taxi and fatally shot them. Said went on the run immediately after and managed to evade capture for 12 years. Although he was initially thought to have fled to Egypt, he was arrested in Texas in August 2020, along with his son and his brother. Said was ultimately found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
#25: Willie Sutton
Years on List: 1950-52On March 20th 1950, just one week after its creation, the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list added its 11th name: Willie Sutton. Sutton was a notorious bank robber who stole approximately $2 million throughout his long career. He was first sent to prison in 1931, but successfully escaped on three different occasions. After his third escape in 1947 from the Philadelphia County Prison, Sutton was placed on the Most Wanted list. He remained on the run until February 1952, when a clothing salesman recognized him on a subway and alerted the authorities. Sutton received a prison sentence of 30 to 120 years, but was released in 1969 due to good behavior and poor health.
#24: Donald Eugene Webb
Years on List: 1981-2007On December 4th 1980, the town of Saxonburg[e], Pennsylvania was rocked by its first murder in over a century. Police Chief Gregory Adams pulled over a man named Donald Eugene Webb in a routine traffic stop. When Adams asked to see his license, Webb attacked and shot him twice at close range. A nationwide manhunt for Webb was launched, and in 1981, he was placed on the Most Wanted list, where he remained for nearly 26 years before being removed in 2007, as authorities believed he had died. That presumption was confirmed in 2017 when investigators discovered that Webb’s wife, Lillian, had harbored him in two of her homes until he passed away from a stroke in 1999.
#23: Ruja Ignatova[f]
Years on List: 2022-Ruja Ignatova became known as the ‘Cryptoqueen’ for her digital currency, OneCoin, which she founded in 2014. However, less than a decade later, she earned a new title: FBI’s most-wanted fugitive. OneCoin, it turns out, was nothing more than a pyramid scheme that swindled investors from around the world of $4 billion. In 2017, when it became clear that authorities were investigating her company, Ignatova vanished into thin air. She has since appeared on the most wanted lists of the FBI and Europol, with a $5 million reward offered for information leading to her arrest. Although still at large, rumors suggest that Ignatova may have been murdered in 2018 on the orders of a Bulgarian drug lord.
#22: Andrew Cunanan[g]
Year on List: 1997Between April and July 1997, Andrew Cunanan went on a killing spree across four states, claiming the lives of five people. But he is mostly remembered for the murder of his final victim, renowned fashion designer Gianni Versace. On July 15th 1997, Cunanan fatally shot Versace at the entrance of his mansion in Miami Beach, Florida. By that time, he had already spent about one month on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, but managed to lay low. Just one week after Versace’s murder, Cunanan turned the same weapon on himself and took his own life before he could be captured. To this day, no one knows the motives behind his deadly rampage.
#21: Robert William Fisher
Years on List: 2002-21In June 2002, former U.S. Navy personnel and firefighter Robert William Fisher became the 475th fugitive to appear on the Ten Most Wanted list. He was wanted for the alleged murder of his wife and two children at their home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Fisher, whose parents divorced when he was a teenager, reportedly had a troubled marriage on the brink of divorce. Before that could happen, he killed his family and fled, rigging their house to explode hours later, supposedly to destroy all evidence of the crime. Since then, Fisher’s whereabouts have never been verified, despite hundreds of tips received by the FBI. In 2021, he was taken off the list, though he still remains a wanted fugitive.
#20: Ramzi Yousef
Years on List: 1993-95Almost a decade before 9/11, the World Trade Center was hit with a terrorist attack that claimed six lives and left more than a thousand injured. Ramzi Yousef, one of the brains behind the 1993 incident, fled the U.S. just hours later and was subsequently added to the FBI’s list. During his period at large, Yousef masterminded what is now known as the Bojinka plot, which included a plan to assassinate Pope John Paul II and attack 11 planes en route to the United States. Although detailed, the plan failed and Yousef was later arrested after one of his former associates ratted him out. He was extradited to the U.S. where he is currently behind bars for life.
#19: Ruth Eisemann-Schier
Years on List: 1968-69The first woman to ever appear on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list; Eisemann-Schier and her boyfriend Gary Stephen Krist orchestrated the kidnapping of heiress Barbara Jane Mackle in 1968. The two criminals abducted Mackle from her hotel room and took her to a remote area, where they buried her in a ventilated box for more than three days. Luckily, Mackle was rescued in relatively good condition. Krist was apprehended just two days later. It would take the better part of three months for Eisemann-Schier to be caught, but after it finally happened, she spent four years in prison and was deported to her home country of Honduras.
#18: Jason Derek Brown
Years on List: 2007-22Before he was included on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, Jason Derek Brown was a seemingly successful businessman with a taste for the expensive. In reality, he was deeply in debt, and involved in various sketchy schemes. His apparent life of luxury came to an end in November of 2004 when he carried out a heist of an armored car outside a movie theater, killing the guard. Brown fled the scene and bounced around the U.S. before disappearing completely. His “surfer dude” looks have led to supposed sightings of him all around the country, the majority of which have turned out to be false. In 2022, Brown was removed from the list, although he still remains at large.
#17: James Charles Kopp
Years on List: 1999-2001Nicknamed “Atomic Dog”, James Charles Kopp was closely affiliated with anti-abortion militants, including the Christian “Lambs of Christ”. In 1998, he fatally shot physician Barnett Slepian in his own home. Doctor Slepian provided abortion services for several New York communities. After committing the murder, Kopp fled the U.S., moving to Mexico and Ireland, before landing in France in March of 2001. Two weeks later, he was arrested by French police and extradited to the U.S. He’s serving a lifetime sentence without the possibility of parole. Police suspect that he was also responsible for the murders of several other doctors in the US and Canada.
#16: Leslie Isben Rogge
Years on List: 1990-96Bank robber Leslie Isben Rogge was the first ever criminal on the FBI list apprehended thanks to the internet. Rogge built his criminal career on bank robberies across the US, from Florida to Missouri. He was caught and convicted in 1984, but escaped the following year to commit even more robberies. In all, Rogge robbed over two dozen banks and made away with over $2 million. He remained on the run for several years before his picture on the FBI’s website was recognized by someone in Guatemala, who alerted the local authorities. Rogge will remain locked up till 2034, when he will be 94 years old.
#15: Eric Rudolph
Years on List: 1998-2003Another anti-abortion militant, Eric Rudolph was behind the Centennial Olympic Park bombing during the 1996 Summer Olympics. He also bombed two abortion clinics and a lesbian bar. For five years, he hid in the Appalachian wilderness, but in 2003, he was arrested at a grocery store in North Carolina. He pleaded guilty to all charges, including murder, and revealed that he had hidden 250 pounds of dynamite in the forest. Unrepentant, he has written essays from prison promoting violence, published online by Christian terrorist organization Army of God.
#14: Warren Jeffs
Year on List: 2006The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a radical denomination of the Mormon Church that still preaches polygamy. When he took over as President of the church, Warren Jeffs married nearly all of his father’s widows and took strict control over who his followers married. His regime was fraught with allegations of assault, and he was responsible for arranging marriages between adult men and minors. After appearing on the FBI Most Wanted List for just four months, Jeffs was arrested at a traffic stop and tried for his crimes in Utah, Arizona and Texas. He is currently serving a life sentence in Texas.
#13: Alexis Flores
Years on List: 2007-In 2000, a drifter going by the name Carlos was working as a handyman in a neighborhood in Philadelphia. That summer, the body of a missing girl was found in the apartment building where “Carlos” lived, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Four years later, Alexis Flores was arrested for forgery in Arizona and jailed for 60 days, before he was deported back to his home country of Honduras. After his deportation, DNA samples taken from Flores in Arizona matched those from the murder case in Philadelphia, proving that “Carlos” was, in fact, Flores. He was added to the FBI’s list soon after, and is currently believed to be hiding either in Honduras or somewhere in the U.S.
#12: Juan García Abrego
Years on List: 1995-96The first drug trafficker to appear on the FBI’s list, Juan García Abrego gained notoriety as the ruthless leader of the Gulf Cartel. After taking over the reins of the cartel from his uncle, García Abrego transformed it into one of the most expansive crime syndicates along the U.S.-Mexico border. He shipped not only drugs into the US, but also millions of dollars to be laundered. With such an infamous reputation, he was added to the FBI’s list in 1995 and apprehended almost a year later on a ranch in Mexico. He was tried on 22 counts of money laundering and drug trafficking, and bagged himself 11 consecutive life sentences in the slammer.
#11: Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez[h]
Years on List: 2020-23Speaking of the Gulf Cartel, they feuded heavily with another Mexican syndicate called the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. As part of their ongoing rivalry, the Gulf Cartel arranged to have the father of Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez murdered. Villarreal-Hernandez, who was a Beltrán-Leyva boss, sought to enact his revenge, but not on any of his rival drug lords. Instead, he targeted Juan Jesús Guerrero Chapa, the Gulf Cartel’s lawyer who represented their leader. In May 2013, Guerrero was tracked down to Southlake, Texas, and assassinated by Villarreal-Hernandez’s men. Investigation by the authorities traced the murder plot back to Villarreal-Hernandez, who was then added to the Most Wanted list. His name remained there until January 7th 2023 when he was arrested in Mexico.
#10: Thomas James Holden
Years on List: 1950-51Over the last 70 years, more than 500 names have graced the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives List. Thomas James Holden was the very first. A career criminal, Holden first appeared on the FBI’s radar as one half of the notorious Holden-Keating Gang. Together with Francis Keating, he went on a robbery spree in the Midwest throughout the 1920s and ‘30s, targeting payroll deliveries, trains, and banks. Shortly after his second stint in prison, Holden shot his wife and her two brothers after a drunken night and fled the scene. The following year, he appeared as the first fugitive on the FBI’s inaugural list. He was eventually captured and thrown right back in prison.
#9: Víctor Manuel Gerena
Years on List: 1984-2016With a record 32 years, Víctor Manuel Gerena remains the fugitive with the longest amount of time spent on the Most Wanted List. While working as an armored car guard for Wells Fargo in 1983, Gerena and his accomplices pulled off a heist of $7 million from the company’s depot. This became the biggest cash theft carried out on US soil at the time. Gerena escaped to Mexico soon after the robbery and hasn’t been seen since then. He was added to the FBI’s list the following year and remained there until he was taken off in 2016. While many of his co-conspirators have since been apprehended, the whereabouts of Víctor Manuel Gerena remain unsolved.
#8: William Bradford Bishop Jr.
Years on List: 2014-18Before the horrific events of March 1st, 1976, William Bradford Bishop Jr. lived the American dream. The Yale alum and former diplomat was married to his high school sweetheart and was the father to three boys. After finding out he was passed over for a promotion on that fateful day, Bishop returned home and allegedly murdered his family, as well as his mother. For decades, the feds have combed through lead after lead but have turned up nothing in their search for Bishop. From 2014 to 2018, Bishop was named as one of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, but he was kicked off the list in favor of more dangerous people.
#7: Leonard Peltier
Years on List: 1975-76The criminal case of Leonard Peltier is one that has been heavily debated for decades. An activist and member of the American Indian Movement, Peltier appeared on the Most Wanted List for his involvement in the killing of two FBI agents at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He was arrested just two months later in Canada and extradited back to the U.S., where he was tried and convicted. Peltier’s trial raised several questions concerning the evidence presented and the witness testimonies, some of which have since been recanted. Despite clemency appeals from several human rights groups and key political figures, Peltier’s convictions - two life sentences and additional time for a 1979 prison escape - still stand.
#6: Rafael Caro Quintero[i]
Years on List: 2018-22The whopping $20 million dollar reward for information leading to the capture of Rafael Caro Quintero’s is the largest currently offered for an FBI Most Wanted Fugitive. One of the founders of the Guadalajara Cartel, Caro Quintero went to prison in 1985 for his role in the murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena Salazar. He was released in 2013, after a state tribunal in Mexico ruled that he should have been tried for murder in a state, not federal court. After outrage from the Obama administration, the Mexican government issued a new arrest warrant a few days later, but Caro Quintero was long gone. He was however captured in Mexico on July 15th 2022, in a covert mission that left 14 Mexican servicemembers dead in a helicopter crash.
#5: Semion Mogilevich
Years on List: 2009-15Arms trafficking, racketeering, money laundering, contract murders … These are just a few of the criminal charges leveled against Russian mafia boss Semion Mogilevich. Described by the FBI as “the most dangerous mobster in the world,” Mogilevich was placed on the Most Wanted List in 2009 after scamming millions of dollars from investors of a Canadian company he oversaw. It was a long shot, as the Feds knew he had high-profile connections in Russia and was living freely in Moscow. Due to the lack of an extradition treaty between Russia and the U.S., Mogilevich was taken off the list in 2015, but he is still being actively pursued by the FBI.
#4: James “Whitey” Bulger
Years on List: 1999-2011One of the most notorious mob bosses to ever spring out of Boston, James “Whitey” Bulger was the leader of the Winter Hill Gang. Bulger had his hands in multiple criminal enterprises, such as racketeering, money laundering, extortion and even murder, yet he worked as an FBI informant against other mobs. Facing impending prosecution, he fled Boston and remained in hiding for sixteen years. During this period he was added to the list and was, at one time, the second most-wanted man in the US, behind only Osama bin Laden. After he was apprehended in 2011, Bulger was convicted of his many crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2018, he met his demise at the hands of other inmates.
#3: Theodore “Ted” Bundy
Year on List: 1978One of the most infamous serial killers of all time, Ted Bundy was responsible for the deaths of at least 30 women in the 1970s. He was arrested in 1975 but managed to escape from prison twice, killing even more women while he was on the run. Bundy used his charm and good looks to lure his victims in, before assaulting them and taking their lives. After his second escape from prison, his name was added to the FBI’s list. He only spent five days on the list before he was arrested at a traffic stop. Following two highly publicized trials, Bundy was found guilty of three murders and was executed by electric chair in 1989.
#2: James Earl Ray
Years on List: 1968, 1977Already a convicted armed robber and fraudster, James Earl Ray gained notoriety for his 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Ray, who had escaped from prison the previous year, ran up north to Canada and laid low for a while. After a few months on the run, Ray was arrested in London and sent back to the U.S. to stand trial for his crime. There, he pleaded guilty to King’s murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Having appeared on FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives in 1968, Ray’s name resurfaced on the list in 1977 when he escaped from prison with six other inmates. He was recaptured three days later, and died in prison at the age of 70.
#1: Osama bin Laden
Years on List: 1999-2011As the founder of Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden was responsible for masterminding several terrorist attacks. Although most infamous for the events of September 11th 2001, bin Laden originally appeared on the FBI’s list two years earlier. His inclusion was as a result of his involvement in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. After the 9/11 attacks, bin Laden became the most wanted man in the world, with the FBI placing a $25 million bounty on his head. Bin Laden managed to evade capture for more than a decade, but met his end in May 2011 when he was shot and killed by U.S. military forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
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